Congregation Kol Ami (formerly Temple Emanuel) is a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

congregation located in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.< ...

. It was founded in 1950 on the western side of Cherry Hill, and moved in 1992 to Cherry Hill's east side. Its first

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

was Herbert M. Yarrish, who served from 1956 to 1975. , the senior rabbi is Jennifer L. Frenkel and the

cantors A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

are Rhoda J. Harrison and Neil Schnitzer."Clergy"
Congregation Kol Ami website. Accessed September 13, 2022.

History

Temple Emanuel was established in 1950 as

's first Reform Jewish congregation. They hired their first full-time

, Herbert M. Yarrish, in 1956. Yarrish was a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, who had received a master's degree in Hebrew letters from

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in 1949.Downey, Sally A (September 19, 2007)
"Herbert Yarrish, 87, rabbi and stockbroker"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

''. The members initially met in a variety of locations. In 1959, when membership reached approximately 300, the congregation broke ground on its first permanent synagogue building in Delaware Township, on Cherry Hill's west side.Cammarota, Ann Marie T (2001). ''Pavements in the Garden: The Suburbanization of Southern New Jersey''.

Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (FDU Press) is a publishing house under the operation and oversight of Fairleigh Dickinson University, the largest private university in New Jersey, which has international campuses in Vancouver, British Colum ...

. p. 248. Jerome P. David joined as assistant rabbi in 1974."Our History"
Temple Emanuel website. Accessed June 19, 2011. Yarrish retired in 1975; following his retirement he worked as a

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stock ...

. He was succeeded as senior rabbi by Edwin N. Soslow, a role he filled until his death in 1987. Soslow was succeeded as senior rabbi by Jerome P. David. The congregation moved to its current building in east Cherry Hill in 1992.Preisler, Julian H (2008). ''Historic Synagogues of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley''.

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

p. 13
In 2005, Temple Emanuel broke the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for

dreidel A dreidel, also dreidle or dreidl ( ; yi, דרײדל, dreydl, plural: ''dreydlech''; he, סביבון, sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the teetotum, a gamb ...

spinning, with 541 dreidels spun simultaneously for at least ten seconds. There were 578 participants, succeeding the previous record of 535 people by the University of Maryland Hillel in 1999. In 2010, members of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

broke Temple Emanuel's record, by spinning a total of 618 dreidels. In 2022, Congregation M'kor Shalom and Temple Emanuel merged into one synagogue, Congregation Kol Ami. The synagogue is located in Temple Emanuel's building.

Current building

The congregation acquired of land on the east side of Cherry Hill (at the intersection of Springdale and Kresson Roads) in 1989, and began construction of a new

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

building there. In 1992, the congregation moved to the new facilities, across from the Katz Jewish Community Center (which later opened in 1997). The facilities include a social hall (used for special occasions such as

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

s, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

s), an industrial kitchen, an outdoor atrium (also used for

Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tis ...

), a spacious

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians :* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States * Lobby (food), a thick st ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

and Hebrew school complexes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) Buildings and structures in Camden County, New Jersey Cherry Hill, New Jersey Reform synagogues in New Jersey Jewish organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in New Jersey Synagogues completed in 1992